INVESTIGATOR ASSISTANT

THE JOB: Under general supervision, serve civil papers; investigate matters related to alleged failure to pay child support obligation; assist in investigating consumer fraud or major felony cases; assist in the Public Administrator’s Office; and do other work as required.  Investigator Assistants are assigned to the District Attorney’s Office to support District Attorney Investigators and Attorneys or the Child Support Services Department Public Administrator or other staff in prosecution, child support or public administrator related efforts.  The current vacancy is in the District Attorney’s Office Consumer Affairs unit.

THE REQUIREMENTS: Any combination of education and experience providing the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying, unless otherwise specified. A typical way to obtain these would be:

Successful completion of a minimum 180 hour internship with a California District Attorney's Office, Investigations Bureau. 

OR

Completion of 15 semester units of course work in law enforcement or a related field AND 6 months of experience dealing with the public which has included handling stressful situations, interviewing and record keeping.

OR

Successful completion of POST Certified Reserve Academy AND 6 months of experience dealing with the public which has included handling stressful situations, interviewing and record keeping.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:  License Requirement: Possess and maintain a valid California Class C Driver License during the course of employment.  Fingerprint/Background Investigation: Ability to pass a background investigation. Fingerprinting is required.   

Special Working Conditions: Possible violent reactions from those being served legal documents; exposure to variable temperatures and weather; silica dust such as asbestos in old homes of clients, poison oak and insects in yards of clients, infections from needles, syringes, lice, scabies, fleas, and staph infections; availability to work overtime and irregular hours including evenings and weekends; physically and mentally capable of performing the position’s essential functions as summarized in the typical tasks.  

Knowledge: Working knowledge of procedures used in gathering and compiling information; office procedures and practices; preparation of correspondence and reports; filing and record keeping systems; and interviewing principles and techniques.  Some knowledge of basic investigative techniques; legal terminology, forms and documents; bookkeeping and financial record keeping methods, practices and terminology; techniques of receiving, inventorying, safeguarding, storing and shipping of property; procedures used to conduct title searches; criminal and civil legal system; and banking procedures as they relate to insufficient fund checks.

Ability to: Serve legal documents; learn to conduct effective office and field investigations; prepare factual reports in both written and oral formats; establish and maintain effective working relationships with the general public and staff; obtain information through interview and observation; deal effectively with uncooperative and potentially violent individuals; maintain accurate records and filing systems; learn and apply investigative principles and techniques; learn and apply procedures of searching for and obtaining copies of public or private records;  learn and apply procedures and principles of testifying in court; remain calm in stressful situations; take photographs; explain procedural information; understand and carry out verbal and/or written instructions; perform responsible bookkeeping and financial record keeping work requiring judgment and arithmetic calculations; safely lift and move heavy or bulky objects such as evidence, property or office equipment weighing up to 60 pounds; work independently without specific instructions; work in a high stress environment; and learn to secure legible fingerprints.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS:
ANNUAL LEAVE – 22 days first year, increasing to 37 days after 15 years.  Available after six months for vacation and/or sick leave.
HOLIDAYS – 12.5 paid holidays per year.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE – 3 days paid in California, 5 days paid out-of-state.
MEDICAL PLAN – The County contracts with CalPERS for a variety of medical plans.  For most plans, County contributions pay a majority of the premiums for employees and eligible dependents.
DENTAL PLAN – County pays for employee and eligible dependent coverage.
VISION PLAN – County pays for employee coverage. Employee may purchase eligible dependent coverage.
RETIREMENT  – Pension formula 2% at age 60 or 2% at age 62 as determined based on provisions of the CA Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013(PEPRA). Pension benefit determined by final average compensation of three years.  County pays a portion of retirement contribution and participates in Social Security. 
LIFE INSURANCE – County paid $20,000 term policy.  Employee may purchase additional life insurance.
SDI – Employees in the General Representation Unit participate in the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program. This program is funded 100% by employee payroll deductions.
DEPENDENT-CARE PLAN – Employees who make contributions for child or dependent care may elect to have their contributions made utilizing “pre-tax dollars.”
H-CARE PLAN – Employees who pay a County medical premium share of cost may elect this pre-tax program.
HEALTH CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ALLOWANCE (HCFSA) – Employees may elect this pre-tax program to cover qualifying health care expenses.
DEFERRED COMPENSATION – A deferred compensation plan is available to employees.
OTHER – Other pay and benefit items apply to certain positions or assignments, such as Bilingual Pay and Night Shift Differential.

THE EXAMINATION: Your application and supplemental application will be reviewed to determine if you have met the education, experience, training and/or licensing requirements as stated on the job announcement.  If you meet these criteria and are one of the best qualified, you may be required to compete in any combination of written, oral and/or performance examinations or a competitive evaluation of training and experience as described on your application and supplemental application. You must pass all components of the examination to be placed on the eligible list. The examination may be eliminated if there are ten or fewer qualified applicants.  If the eligible list is established without the administration of the announced examination, the life of the eligible list will be six months and your overall score will be based upon an evaluation of your application and supplemental application. If during those six months it is necessary to administer another examination for this job class, you will be invited to take the examination to remain on the eligible list.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply Online Now!  Click on the link below; or print out an application and supplemental questionnaire and mail/bring them to: Santa Cruz County Personnel Department, 701 Ocean Street, Room 310, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060.  For information, call (831) 454-2600.  Hearing Impaired TDD# (831) 454-2123.  Applications will meet the final filing date if received in one of the following ways:  1) In the Personnel Department by 5:00 p.m. on the final filing date, 2) submitted online before midnight of the final filing date.  Following a review for minimum qualifications, applicants who are selected to move forward in the recruitment process will be notified that they must submit a completed conviction history questionnaire in order to continue to the examination phase of the process.

Women, minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.  If you have a disability that requires test accommodation, please call (831) 454-2600.

To comply with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, Santa Cruz County verifies that all new employees are either U.S. citizens or persons authorized to work in the U.S.

NOTE: The provisions of this bulletin do not constitute an expressed or implied contract.

An Equal Opportunity Employer